Banks Harlingen: The Basics of Banking and Financial Literacy

Learning the basics of financial literacy can seem stressful if you don’t know where to start. However, thanks to Banks Harlingen – Valley Federal Credit Union (VFCU) you don’t have to think too much in learning the fundamentals. You can learn how to be more financially literate with VFCU, and here’s how!

Importance of Financial Literacy

Its never too late to start learning, but maintaining that pace can take a little work and patience. By learning these basics, you can unlock the fundamentals of banking as well as create more investing decisions that concur with your finances:

● Banking

● Budgeting

● Saving

● Credit

● Debt

Once you’ve mastered these types of financial fundamentals, you can improve your lifestyle:

● Gain the ability to understand and make use of variety of financial skills

● Likely to spend less income

● Create an emergency fund for safe keeping

● Open retirement account early

● Apply more of the basics with ease in everyday life

What is Financial Literacy?

Financial literacy is the ability to understand and or make use of the variety of financial skills that include:

● Personal financial management

● Budgeting

● Investing

Financial literacy is also comprehending certain financial principles such as:

● The time value of money

● Compound interest

● Managing debt

● Financial planning

If you can educate yourself on the value of how money works, then you can be able to set goals and become more aware of practicing more financial management.

Introduction to Bank Accounts

If you’re interested in starting off your financial literacy fundamentals, then you should start with opening a bank account. Typically, a bank account is a the first financial account that you’ll be able to open for yourself in order to be able to keep your finances more organized. Opening a bank account can hold and build the money you will need for necessities that you’ll need later in life.

Which Type of Bank Should I Use?

If you’re curious on where you should open an account with, then here are some pros and cons between Retail banks and Credit Unions :

● Retail Banks are the most common type of bank and are a for-profit organization that offer checking and savings accounts and can be physical buildings, in person, or online.

● Credit unions provide savings and checking accounts, issue loans and other services just like banks, but they are non-profit organizations, which means little to no fees and better rates.

What’s an Emergency Fund?

An emergency fund is not like a specific type of bank account and can be any sort of cash that you have saved to help with financial situations. Usually emergency funds are used for:

● Separate savings accounts

● Have enough finances to cover at least 3 to 6 weeks months worth of expenses

● Is money that is off limits for paying regular expenses

How Do I Create a Budget?

Budgeting is the idea of tracking how much finances you receive and spend every month or every week, depending on the strategy you use. You can use paper or a budgeting app in order to keep track of your finances. In order to create a budget, here are a few things that you need to keep in mind:

● Income – list all of your sources of income that you receive monthly or bi-weekly, or from other sources

● Expenses – list purchases that you make monthly and split into categories:

● Fixed expenses – purchases that you must make monthly, such as rent, bills, and utilities

● Discretionary spending – non-essential spending or varied purchases such as shopping, restaurants or traveling

● Savings – record the amount of money that you are able to save per month

Other VFCU Banking Services

VFCU is determined to help you on your journey to better finances and better savings! With our UChoose rewards, you’ll be able to choose different types of rewards that benefit you in the long run whenever you stay with us and use our services! Choose from a variety of rewards such as:

● Travel expenses

● Shopping benefits

● Cashback

● Savings perks

Want More Information on Banks Harlingen?

Contact us for more information and see if you can become a member of VFCU, and gain access to plenty of membership benefits! Want to know more about VFCU banking benefits? Check out VFCU services!